Section 9.1 - 9.3 - Anorexia

Question 1

Describe the criteria for binge eating disorder.

Answer 1

• After a binge, the person with BED does not engage in any form of inappropriate “compensatory” behavior such as purging, using laxatives, or even exercising to limit weight gain.

   - Recurrent episodes of binge-
     eating (an abnormal amount of 
     food in a 2 hr period)
   - A sense of lack of control over  
     eating while binging

The binge-eating episodes are associated with three (or
more) of the following:
1. Eating much more rapidly than normal.
2. Eating until feeling uncomfortably full.
3. Eating large amounts of food when not feeling physically hungry.
4. Eating alone because of feeling embarrassed by how
much one is eating.
5. Feeling disgusted with oneself, depressed, or very
guilty afterward.

• Individuals with binge-eating disorder are more likely to have overvalued ideas about the importance of weight and shape

Question 2

Describe the issue of “diagnostic crossover.” What types of crossover are more/less common with respect
to EDs?

Answer 2

• Diagnostic crossover means that its quite common for someone who is diagnosed with one form of eating disorder to be later diagnosed with another eating disorder.
• Common to go between the the restricting type of anorexia and the binge-eating/purging type of anorexia.
• Pretty common to go b/w the binge-eating/purging type of anorexia to bulimia. (not as common to go the other way)
• There are cases from going from BED to bulimia (not as common to go from bulimia to BED)
• NOTE that binge-eating disorder and anorexia nervosa appear to be quite distinct disorders

Question 3

How does ethnic identity affect rates of eating disorders?

Answer 3

• Being Caucasian does appear to be associated with subclinical problems that may place individuals
  at HIGHER RISK for developing eating disorders.
• Although Asian women exhibit levels of pathological eating similar to those of white women (Wildes et al., 2001),
  it has long been held that African Americans are LESS SUSCEPTIBLE to subclinical types of eating problems and body image concerns than Caucasians are.
• However, as minorities become more and more integrated and internalize white, middle-class societal values
  about the desirability of thinness, we should expect to see increases in the rates of eating disorders in minorities.

Question 4

Describe the basic findings of the “Fiji study.”

Answer 4

• When Becker first began conducting
  research in Fiji in the 1990s, she was struck by the considerable percentage of Fijians (especially women) who were
  overweight with respect to their Western counterparts (+ no one had eating disorders). Being fat was valued.
• After Western television came to Fiji, many young women began to express concerns about their weight and dislike of their bodies. And for the first time, women in Fiji started to diet.